The word "cinematic" gets bandied about in the music press
almost as often as the adjective "atmospheric". Nonetheless, the
sprawling instrumental excursions of Melbourne trio Season fit both
descriptions.

They are fans of David Lynch and have scored a number of
Australian films. It's an angle they bring to their debut album
Avatar.

"I would say that the difference in the way we approach doing
music for a soundtrack is, if we have seen the film, we then have a
bit of a feel for what is needed," says Season's
guitarist-keyboardist, James McGauran.

He says the difference between creating music for film as
opposed to their own album is the ease of inspiration with film:
"You can see it right there on the screen.

"Writing the music and the songs on Avatar was never that
straightforward. The songs started as riffs [and] ideas and
developed over a long period of time. A couple of the songs have
been in our live set for two years and slowly evolved into what
ended up on the CD.

"On the album there wasn't any visual stimulus, just us locked
away in a rehearsal room, staring at each other for six hours a
day!"

You'd be right in concluding Season's music is heavily
improvised. Jazz and post-rock have a strong tradition of
improvisation, a method that played a major role in Avatar's
sound.

Lately, more and more composers have been scoring films in this
way. Cult jazz group the Necks used this methodology for Australian
film The Boys. Paul Kelly's remarkable score for
Lantana emerged from reactionary jam sessions after watching
Ray Lawrence's drama.

Season's improvisations drew inspiration from film soundtracks
such as Neil Young's for Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, and Angelo
Badalamenti's collaborations with David Lynch.

"Personally, I love David Lynch's use of the supernatural in his
films, and just plain weirdness." McGauran says. "I guess the music
that accompanies the majority of his films by Angelo Badalamenti
works in a similar way. The music, especially when you think of
Twin Peaks, just adds to the atmosphere of the film and
takes you on an emotional journey.

"The fact, too, that he is so hands-on in the studio, working on
the soundtracks with Badalamenti, shows how much he cares about
what he is creating. He wants to create not just a film, but a
whole world ..."

It's a desire mirrored in Avatar, where the trio weave a
complex tangle of undulating musical plots, augmented by guest
string players, ambient vocalists and a trombonist. Live, they
manage without the guest performers.

"In the future, we hope to bring in a lot of the guests for
shows," McGauran says.

"It makes it more of an event.

"We've always written as a three-piece so we are quite capable
of delivering most of what is on the album to a live audience.

"We have three songs that go for about 15 minutes each. You
could say they are rather epic and take you on quite a journey.
They're three of our more energetic songs that come across well
live, in more 'rock' surroundings. That is the path we are taking
for this show."